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Mayors deprived of authority
The Kremlin has found a way to include mayors in the vertical of power without formally violating the constitutional requirement of the independence of local self-governance from organs of state authority. Today the State Duma council will examine amendments to the federal laws On the General Principles of Organization of the Legislative and Executive Organs of State Authority in the Russian Federation and On the General Principles of Organization of Local Self-Governance in the Russian Federation. The amendments, written by United Russia Party members Vladimir Mokry, Vladimir Zhidkikh and Alexey Ogonkov, will allow governors to deprive inconvenient mayors of the majority of their authority and practically take the management of regional capitals on themselves. The document will be distributed to the subjects of the federation for examination this week.The draft amendments allow regions temporarily to exercise individual authorities of organs of local self-governance of settlements and city districts that are the administrative centers of subjects of the Russian Federation for the purpose to guaranteeing unity in life support, communications and other infrastructure systems. Mayors can be deprived of up to ten authorities, including organization of heating, gas, electric and water services, management of domestic waste, building and maintaining roads and bridges, transportation services, establishing rights to land use and control over land use. The meaning of temporary is to be determined legislatively by the regions. Mokry, head of the Duma Committee on Issue of Local Self-Governance, explained that We're not saying that it's mandatory. But, in the case of deterioration of the quality of the services provided to the population, organs of state authorities should have the same responsibility as local self-governance. It is a question of competence and the correct spending of funds. Local self-governance should confirm its work though efficiency. Kommersant has obtained information indicating that a number of Kremlin officials stand behind the initiative, including presidential chief of staff and former governor of Tyumen Region Sergey Sobyanin. The Kremlin also freely admits that the amendments will make it possible to control uncooperative mayors of wealthy donor cities who come into conflict with regional governors. Governors have been attempting to gain control over the mayors of their capital cities since the institution of popular mayoral elections. That effort has gain momentum n regions where governors have been appointed by the president and not elected themselves. Incorporating municipalities in the vertical of power would require constitutional changes, however, which Russian President Vladimir Putin has said is impermissible. The appointment of mayors is also a violation of the European Convention on Local Self-Governance, which would cause Russian problems with the Council of Europe. A temporary transfer of power is not a de facto violation of the Constitution, even though the term of that transfer is left to the discretion of the head of the federation subject. The law already allows such transfer in cases of natural disaster, or when a municipality has overdue debts that exceed 30 percent of its income or state subventions are misspent. Representatives of the opposition characterized the law as a way for governors to punish politically disloyal mayors. Posted by: Dan Darling 2006-04-05 |
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